The following Big Brother Mouse books are available in PDF format, free of charge, for personal use, or educational use within one school.

Women's Health

This long-needed book, which will benefit women and their medical caregivers, is adapted from "Where Women Have No Doctor," published by the Hesperian Foundation. It covers women's reproductive systems; pregnancy; childbirth; and breastfeeding; and the special concerns of girls and young women. Lao. Illustrated.
Who is it for? This book is posted online primarily to make it more available to hospitals, health centers, and health workers in Laos who have internet access. We hope, of course, that others will also benefit.
More about this book | Free download

The Little Elephant That Could

What happens when Big Brother Mouse goes to a rural school for a book party? Although a bit fictionalized (Boom-Boom, our book elephant, can't actually talk) this shows the Mouse team in action, along with an inspiring message. Lao and English. Illustrated.
Who is it for? Any family visiting Laos should enjoy this book. It is particularly intended for school classes that are raising money to sponsor a book party in Laos.
More about this book | Free download

One Mouse and Seven Cats

This book was originally intended to introduce Lao children to simple arithmetic concepts. The pictures depict many scenes that reflect everyday life for Lao children, but are quite out-of-the-ordinary for western readers. For this PDF, we've added background information at the end, in English, explaining each picture. Lao and English. illustrated.
Who is it for? School classes that would like to learn about another culture. Families planning a visit to Laos.
More about this book | Free download

No Chickens, No Eggs

A Lao alphabet book. Lao and English, illustrated.
Who is it for? This was originally intended for Lao children, learning the Lao alphabet. It has also proven highly popular with older students learning either Lao, or English.
More about this book | Free download

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Will Peter learn to obey his mother, before he becomes tomorrow's larp? Here's our Lao version of a long-time favorite. Lao and English. illustrated.
Who is it for? Children who speak Lao, but do not have many opportunities to read it. Anyone learning English or Lao, particularly at a beginner or intermediate level.
More about this book | Free download

The Grasshopper War, and other stories

Five traditional Lao stories. Lao language, illustrated.
Who is it for? Children who speak Lao, but do not have many opportunities to read it.
More about this book | Free download

Lao Proverbs Coloring Book

Children can learn our culture's proverbs as they color Ounla's entertaining cartoons. Lao language. Illustrated.
Who is it for? Lao people, particularly children. Anyone studying Lao language at an intermediate level.
More about this book | Free download

The Red-Headed Club, and other stories

Three popular Sherlock Holmes stories, with simplified English. Lao and English side by side. Illustrated.
Who is it for? Anyone studying Lao or English, particularly if they know one of these languages and are learning the other.
More about this book | Free download

You may use these books to:

* Practice Lao
* Help your children learn Lao
* Teach Lao to children, in Laos or elsewhere
* Use bilingual titles to practice English.

These may be read on a computer, or printed. Our goal is to add several new books every 4 to 6 weeks until we have an assortment of about 12 books, suitable for different ages and needs. Then we'll periodically replace some of those with new titles. If you see a particular book that interests you, please download it promptly.

Please note: We apologize if artwork in some books is not always sharp. We do not have high-speed internet connections, so we cannot upload large files, and others in Laos cannot download them. As a result, graphic quality in some books has been reduced to keep files smaller.

If you enjoy the chance to read books like these, please remember that many people in Laos have no access to books at all. We hope you'll consider sponsoring a book with us.